Thanatomorphose

Hosted by Director/Writer/Producer Éric Falardeau and members of the cast and crew

Following her recent move into a roomy Montreal apartment, Laura plans to make the most of what life has to offer. Her routine alternates between work, wild times in the evenings and nights spent in the arms of her lover Antoine. Her conquest of happiness, however, can’t dispel a chronic sense of emptiness within her. Beyond the long list of frustrations attached to her stalled art career, Laura feels cast aside by Antoine, who has little interest in her other than her body. Two events occur that shake up her world. The first is crossing the path of Julian, a sensitive guy who might bring her the affections she craves. The second is something awful and unimaginable — Laura is literally rotting from the inside out. Strange patches appear all over her body. Her teeth fall out and she carries the fetid odour of a corpse. Laura must face the fact that she’s trapped in the irreversible process of human decomposition. Her nightmare — and ours — has just begun…

Prepare yourself for THANATOMORPHOSE, a singular cinematic experience that’s supremely disturbing. An unwavering descent into hell, this first feature film by Éric Falardeau is among the potent works, like SALO, which bring the viewer to the point of the unbearable, a test of all senses. With this Kafkaesque tale of transformation, the talented filmmaker juggles the sublime and the transgressive, with superior results. While the film has its share of shockingly violent scenes, it’s no mere exploitation flick, but rather a corrosive meditation on sexuality, solitude and our complex relationships with our own bodies. As Laura, Kayden Rose throws herself completely into a brave and overwhelming performance. Few actors would accept such a demanding role and Rose succeeds remarkably, projecting the pain that’s slowly eating away at her character. Also of note are the superb, strikingly realistic special effects care of David Scherer and Rémy Couture. Following a high-profile run through the festival circuit, THANATOMORPHOSE at last returns home to Quebec, so it’s now your turn to discover one of the most promising voices in local genre cinema, and to be confronted with what may well be the most shocking film of the year.